Called my dealer for 20k service and he quoted approximately $950+ taxes.

Also he told me this includes below.
- oil change with synthetic oil ( Mobil or total)
- oil filter
- air filter
- cabin air filter
- overall diagnosis of car by connecting to a computer

Is that reasonable?

 

Oil and Filter = $100
Air Filter = $30
Pollen Filter = $40
2-3 hours of labor (max) = $300

I wouldn't pay over $500.

I pay $50 in labor for my oil changes and my indie puts my car on the PIWIS every time (I supply the oil and filter).

Unless you've got money to burn, I'd either do it yourself or check out the local indie shops with good reviews and put the saved $$ towards the mod fund.

 

How do you find good Indie shops? Yelp is so corrupt and biased towards advertisers.

 

I think that depends on what your time is worth, Sinister. Personally, I wouldn't burn up a couple of hours of my scarce recreation time changing oil and such just to save $500, and this is a lot more than an oil change. I certainly wouldn't have taken it out of my professional hours at that rate.

The real question is how much you enjoy getting your hands dirty -- whether mechanical work counts as recreation intrinsically. Unless you get enough recreational value out of the work to be worth a lot more than the few hundred you save, I'd suggest using a dealer for regular maintenance. It's a cheap way to make sure you have someone familiar with your car and your treatment of it if a warranty issue arises some day. Especially if the issue arises 5,000 miles after your warranty has nominally expired.

That trade-off is different for each of us, so back to the original question: is $950 reasonable for the 20k service? Yeah, I'd say so. Labor hours vary across the country, but I got the intermediate done for something like $650 myself and I declined one aspect that costs a couple of hundred. Give me a moment... yes, I turned down the replacement of the large air filter. Mine was said to "look dusty" so he presumed I drove a lot in windy dusty conditions up here "in the desert." I do not and the nominal mileage to replace that is... something more than 20k. I don't remember off hand. (I don't have the docs handy while I'm typing this answer, so if anyone really cares I'll have to dig them out.)

Basically, that means my charge here in So Cal was within a hundred or so of what you were quoted, if I had allowed that air filter change, Prasad. Incidentally, I believe the brake fluid flush is a good idea at that mileage and doing that was in my cost also, but you don't mention it. You should push for that to be included at that price.

If this is your regular dealer, you should expect a discount of fifteen percent or so. It's routine in most areas. In fact, if you're going to a dealer you haven't used before, it's worth asking anyway. Say something like: "I'm considering coming to you for my service needs. Can you match the discounts my original dealer provides?"

Gary

 

I just had my 20k service done a few weeks ago (albiet a little late). Dealer quoted me $490 and said the only difference between the annual and the 20K service is cabin and air filters changes and is $300.

I ordered the OEM filters online for $50 which I'll DIY and the annual servicecame to $300. I also added a brake fluid flush so I was out the door for $475, $525 if you count the filters and 10 mins of my time.

 

$950? :-0

 

Which dealer do you use?

 

one in parsippany.

 

certainly i don't have the money to burn. i have decided to do it my self next week.

thanks for inputs btw.

anyone know good indie shops in NJ

 

here, oil costs $39.
http://store.avlube.com/mobil15w50.html

oil pan from amazon costs $12. get filter pack from suncoast is $20 - choose for your car model
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product..._Code=997maint

shop at suncoast for air filter and pollen filter if needed.

then decide if you can do those simple jobs yourself or if it is simpler to pay to somebody else, no one can make that decision for you.

 

My best friend owns an independent BMW service shop (we have 3 BMW and 1 Porsche at home).

He has told me many times that he is making fabulous business, thanks to the Official dealers in town. Customers are so pissed by the price and the lack of quality and human interactions, that he gets all their dissatisfied clients, and many more.

It has come to a point, where he never forgets to thank the Local official dealer for Christmas by sending them a card or some memories for all the great business they send him. It is .

To get back to our subject, the 20K maintenance could be done for less than $300 if you do it yourself. Plus, you learn great things about your car and "she" will return the favor by being reliable and dependable.

Yves

 

Not that it matters in this case, but do you HAVE to do this kind of maintenance at the dealer to maintain your CPO warranty?

 

i passed my warranty period already.

 

well said. thanks.

 

You don't have to do it at the dealer. You just have to keep records to show that it was done. I change my own oil and have CPO until Nov.